Top Russian naval commander latest general to be killed by Ukraine

Fighting has continued in the Kursk region since Ukraine launched a major offensive last August. Photo / Getty Images

A Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Kursk region killed a decorated Russian naval commander, officials said on Thursday, the latest high-ranking general to be killed by Ukraine since the war began.

Major General Mikhail Gudkov was the deputy commander in chief of the Navy and previously led a brigade battling Ukrainian forces. The Defence Ministry confirmed on Thursday (US time) that Gudkov died while working in a border area with Ukraine. He was reportedly killed on Tuesday night.

Last August, Ukraine launched a major operation in Kursk, capturing and occupying a large part of the region for nine months, until the area was mostly retaken by Russian forces in the spring. Ukrainian forces have since remained on a sliver of land at the border, where fighting has continued.

Oleg Kozhemyako, the Governor of Primorye, a region in Russia’s Far East region of Ukraine, confirmed Gudkov’s death in a statement posted to the Telegram messaging app. Gudkov had commanded the 155th Marine Brigade, which was stationed in Primorye, before being appointed to the Navy leadership.

The governor, who was personally acquainted with Gudkov, wrote that he died “while performing his duty as an officer together with his fellow soldiers”.

“He was a strong-spirited warrior who did not imagine himself anywhere but the Navy,” Kozhemyako wrote. “Having become deputy commander in chief of the Navy, he did not stop personally visiting the positions of our marines.”

The governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, also confirmed on Telegram that Gudkov had “tragically died while performing his military duty”.

Gudkov is the latest in a string of high-profile Russian officers to be killed since 2022, including at least 12 major and lieutenant generals. In April, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed by a vehicle explosion in Moscow. In 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who headed the Russian Army’s chemical, biological and nuclear sector, died under similar circumstances. The Security Service of Ukraine asserted responsibility for Kirillov’s death.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s intelligence service also claimed the death of Manolis Pilavov, a former head of the Luhansk region who was an ideologue of the Russian-backed separatist movement that began fighting in Ukraine in 2014. The service said he died in an explosion.

According to Russian news reports, President Vladimir Putin appointed Gudkov to the post of deputy commander at the end of March during a visit to the Arkhangelsk nuclear cruiser.

In fall 2023, Gudkov, who then held the rank of colonel, was awarded the “Hero of Russia” medal “for courage, heroism and skilful command of subordinate formations” in the combat zone.

Before the official announcement of Gudkov’s death, a local Russian news outlet in Kursk reported that 12 servicemen from the 155th Marine Brigade had been killed in a missile strike on their headquarters.

Ukrainian forces have made good use of United States-supplied advanced missiles fired from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars), but effective munitions such as these could soon disappear from the battlefield if they are included in the Pentagon’s recently announced review of military aid.

The US said it was pausing the delivery of previously promised military equipment to Ukraine, including, according to reports, air defence and missiles.

Speaking on Thursday from the Danish capital, Copenhagen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed US-made munitions like the antimissile Patriot system and continued US military support.

“I hope that maybe tomorrow or in close days I will speak about it with President [Donald] Trump,” he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, welcomed the US halting of military aid as the Russian summer offensive against Ukraine is under way.

“The fewer rockets are delivered from abroad to Ukraine, the closer to the end of the military operation,” he said on Thursday.

Mary Ilyushina, Lizzie Johnson and Serhii Korolchuk contributed to this report.